Betty News & Updates
August 19, 2011 Women's College Centex, Mar. 26-27 Centex this year was a fantastic growing tournament for the Bettys. Not only did great competition foster an environment of learning and good spirit, but the opportunity to have a guest coach dramatically improved our team’s experience. We had the opportunity to be coached by 2005 Callahan winner Cara Crouch. Cara was super awesome and taught us so much! On Saturday, the Bettys had a 2-2 record with wins against Texas-B and Tulane and losses to Northeastern and Rice. Some important lessons we learned involved keeping our heads up in tough games and learning not to let other team’s bad spirit affect our game or spirit. We grew a lot as a team while working with Cara and together to improve our game as much as possible. That night was the team dance-off, and though our performance to The Lonely Island’s “I Just Had Sex” might not have been the game changer that last year’s “I Am Not A Whore” by LMAFO was, the Bettys still had a great time shaking their stuff and watching the other teams perform.On Sunday, the strong winds gave the Bettys a lot of opportunity to work on zone offense and defense with tips from Cara, which was extremely helpful. The first game against South Florida ended in a defeat, but with such huge plays like Bonnie’s full-field hammer for a score and a foot-by-foot score against an intimidating wall defense, the game didn’t feel like a loss. The Bettys lost the next game in a very close finish to Connecticut but beat Richmond pretty heavily in our last game of the weekend to come in 11th place in division II. The best part of the tournament was the opportunity to have a guest coach. Cara gave the Bettys a lot of guidance and advice about topics ranging from skills to strategy to spirit to competitiveness. It was truly awesome to learn from someone with so much ultimate knowledge! The Centex tournament was really well run, and we can’t wait to go again next year! Fools' Fest XXX, Apr. 2-3 This year was the thirtieth anniversary of the University of Kansas’s home tournament, Fools’ Fest. As a costume tournament, we love to see teams competing in all sorts of get-ups. Our most memorable game was, as per usual, against the Betty Alums. They always give us some fierce competition and a fun, spirited game. After playing, we all gathered in a huddle to share old and new Betty cheers and chants. It’s so cool to see the Betty spirit alive in multiple generations! All in all, the tournament was a blast, and the party was even better!Ozarks Conference Championships, Apr. 16-17 Sectionals--I mean conference championships--this year was also held in our hometown. Ten teams came to compete, and five walked away with bids to regionals. This tournament was arguably the best the Bettys have played so far this season. We won our first game against K-State 11-5, which was a good warm-up for our next game against top seed WashU. We lost that game 5-11, but as always we put up a fight and enjoyed playing the WUWU girls. We won against Truman State on universe point (8-7) in an extremely close third game. The Tsunami girls always prove to be difficult competition, and this game was no exception! A loss to Arkansas (2-11) in our final game on Saturday was tough to swallow but it gave the Bettys a drive to come ready to fight the next day. We only had one game against St. Louis University on Sunday, which we won 12-8, leaving us in 5th place and guaranteeing our team a bid to Regionals!South Central Regionals, May 7-8 Held near Houston, TX, this year’s South Central Regionals was quite a jaunt from our lovely state of Kansas. With the combination of heat exhaustion and injuries, the Bettys had a difficult time playing up to their full potential. We went 1-3 on Saturday with losses against Colorado, WashU, and Rice and a win against Texas-B. On Sunday, the team lost a few players due to injuries and ended up losing to Colorado State and SLU. In a controversial decision, the majority of the team decided to start the daunting 12-hour drive back home early and forfeit the last game to Texas-B, who we had played the day before. This left the team in 10th place due to other teams forfeiting earlier in the day. Though this weekend was a disappointing end to a great season, the Bettys know we have room to improve and plan on doing so with excitement. We have many players getting experience through club and summer leagues this summer and with our desire to recruit a talented new rookie class, we will be a force to be reckoned with in the fall!End of the Year During the last week before finals, we had our traditional end of the year BBQ! We gave the usual team awards and many personal ones. The winners of the team vote awards are as follows:MVP—Christy Cheung Best Offense—Kat Songer Best Defense—Maddy Webbe Most Hustle—Emily Marotta Most Improved—Hannah Archer Rookie of the Year—Christina Baker Best Spirit—Bonnie Toplikar We also voted to elect next year’s captains and officers. The results were: Captains—Christy Cheung, Kell Bogdan, and Maddy Webbe Officers—Katy Sackuvich, Dung Nguyen, and Kelly Gerken The end of the BBQ was bittersweet, as we all reminisced about all the good times we had and said goodbye to all the graduating seniors. The season was one of growth, friendship and Betty love. We are all very excited to start recruiting and building up our team for this fall! March 18, 2011 The Bettys' spring season is in full swing! We’ve already competed in two back-to-back tournaments and we’re already looking forward to an eventful next few weeks. Free State Classic, Feb. 26-27 The Bettys had a good showing at the first tournament of the semester in nearby Overland Park, KS. It sure was a sight when we showed up to play on the snow-covered turf fields! We went 3-1 on Saturday, with wins against Wash U-B (15-6), Nebraska (11-7), and Missouri (13-7). We suffered a loss against SassyRide, a combination of Arkansas University and Hay Ride (3-15).On Sunday, the Bettys started off slowly with a loss in the first game to Missouri State (3-15). As the day passed, however, the Bettys picked it up, winning the last two pool play games. Our game against John Brown was hard fought on both sides, and the Bettys had a huge comeback after halftime to win on universe (9-8). We played K-State in the last pool play game, and as always we enjoyed playing them (11-4). The last game of the day was for placement and we defeated Missouri (12-3) to take home 3rd place. This was an exciting new tournament for the KC area and it was a great opener for the spring season! Midwest Throwdown, Mar. 5-6 The Bettys returned this year to one of the best tournaments in the Midwest. Sadly, the weather was rather inclement, and much effort was put into staying warm and dry! The Bettys were placed in Division I, and faced some very tough competition. Our games against Colorado, Wisconsin, and Iowa State were all defeats, but we really enjoyed playing and learning from some of the best teams in the region! After a long day of playing, a few of the girls stayed at the fields to attend the skills clinics provided by the tournament and instructed by some of the best female players in the country. Though the weather was less than ideal, the day proved to be a great learning experience for all. It’s always amazing to see how many ultimate players are willing to brave the worst conditions for the love of the game!On Sunday, it was much warmer, though many of the fields were more comparable to mud pits! We had a good time getting down and dirty as we played some more impressive competition, though injuries piled up throughout the day, leaving us with few subs. In bracket play, the Bettys were defeated by Northwestern, Truman State, Wisconsin Eau-Claire, and SLU. This left us in fifteenth place. Overall, the Bettys' record this weekend wasn’t what we were hoping for, but we showed remarkable growth and resilience in the way we played, individually and as a team. More than ever, this tournament has left us ready to rumble and excited to improve our game for the rest of the season! Next up, we will be heading to Austin, TX for CENTEX and then back to Lawrence for our home tournament, Fools’ Fest!! We’ll be working on our skills, so everyone better be ready for the Bettys to bring it—on the field and on the dance floor! January 6, 2011 It's official! The dates have been set for KU's home tournament, Fools Fest XXX. It's the thirtieth anniversary, so be sure to mark your calendars for April 1-3. January 5, 2011 Hey everyone! It’s been a while since the last update, but we wanted to let you know how things have been going this semester. The Manhattan Project, Oct. 2-3 Our first tournament of the school year was the Manhattan Project in Manhattan, KS. Bettys went X/Y and started off the first game Saturday with a Betty versus Betty throw down, which showed to be a great warm-up as both teams went undefeated for the rest of the day. This tournament proved to be a great opportunity for rookies to get some real experience and for vets to continue to hone their skills. Overall, the Bettys took 2nd and 3rd in the tournament—a great start to the season!Just Plain Nasty, Oct. 23-24 Bettys went X/Y again at the second tourney of the fall season in Norman, Oklahoma. The weather on Saturday proved to our most formidable opponent as play was postponed due to lightning and the cold rain continued all day. Regardless of the conditions, we played hard. Betty X went 2-2 on Saturday after some hard-fought games.On Sunday the Bettys continued to do well and had a chance to demonstrate a lot of the potential the rookies and returning vets are bringing to the team. Betty X lost a tough game to the University of Arkansas on universe point, but was able to come back and win against John Brown University, who we had lost to the day before in pool play. Harvest Moon, Nov. 6-7 This year the Bettys took only one team to the Harvest Moon tournament in Fayetteville, Arkansas. With double the numbers, we had double the fun. Since Harvest is a costume tournament, the Bettys rocked competition dressed as Moms. We won against Truman State, but lost to Ole Miss, Texas, and Colorado State. On Saturday night, the Bettys attended the traditional Harvest party dressed as Sour Patch Kids. The night was a blast and seemed to really exemplify the spirit of Harvest.On Sunday the Bettys had a rough start, losing to John Brown on universe point. After finding our groove though, we came back and defeated K-State and North Texas. All in all, the Bettys had a great time dressing up and getting to see all the other teams in creative costumes as well. Harvest Moon 2010 was a blast! Missouri Loves Company, Nov. 13-14 Our final tournament of the year was MLC in Columbia, MO. Our one Betty team started off with a game against Wash U. We lost 15-5, but as always the Bettys enjoyed playing the WUWU girls. The Bettys won our second game 8-7 against Luther, but lost to Oklahoma 8-10, which put us in a three-way tie with those two teams for second place. Due to point differentials, the Bettys were placed in the 9th place bracket for play on Sunday. The team came out hot, beating Missouri 13-7, Truman State 13-5, and Luther 12-8. Winning out on Sunday secured the Bettys ninth place overall.The Bettys had a great fall semester with the debut of many talented rookies and improved and dedicated veterans. This semester has afforded us the opportunities we needed to grow as a team and focus on the future. We have a lot to look forward to in the spring! Check out our schedule to see what we'll be up to in the coming months. [Sp10] [Fa09] [Sp09] [Fa08] |
